If there's one kind of makeup product that I won't mind spending a little more for, well it's no other than a brow pencil or any other brow products. Grooming and redefining my eyebrows will always be a part of my makeup routine (like contouring, haha) because it just makes a huge difference and it frames the face. There! I said it again! Hahaha!

Searching for an eyebrow product for me is like searching for a skin care product. It's a never ending discovery. We discover new products every now and then and even though we already found that one product that we loved, we still search for other products to compare and to find out if there's something better out there.

I have quite a lot of eyebrow pencils in my makeup stash because, like what I've said, I want to know if there's something better than what I have already tried. Of course I did start with local and drugstore brands and I kind of purchased a lot of different eyebrow pencils but I don't really mind since local and drugstore branded eyebrow pencils are usually affordable. And I told myself that I would stick to cheap brow products since they perform so well regardless of its affordable price. However, being a makeup artist, it's like a "must" to search and try products both from drugstore brands and high end brands. And like what I've said above, I wouldn't mind spending a little more for my brows!

So much for my introduction, let me share with you my first ever high end eyebrow pencil which is from Cinema Secrets. It's their Professional Makeup Eyebrow/Eyeliner in Blonde. The price is actually not that expensive but for P241.00, it's a little pricey for "practical" people like me. Haha! I prefer the word practical instead of stingy or kuripot. :-D

The shade of this pencil is the perfect shade for me when I bought it last September because my hair color was still light colored that time. That's why the sales lady recommended this shade to me. I was actually supposed to buy the darker pencil but when the sales lady swatched this pencil, I fell in love with it. However, my hair color is now fading and my roots are growing out but I personally think it still looks good on me now that my hair is getting darker again.

This eyebrow pencil looks nothing out of the ordinary. It looks like any other brow pencils except that it is way longer than the other ones. It has a clear cap which helps us consumers see the real color of the pencil's lead.

Yes, I've had this for about 5 months now and I apologize for writing a review about it just now. And even though I've had this for months now, the pencil is still long because I don't really use it that often since I use different eyebrow pencils everyday.

The consistency and texture of the CS eyebrow pencil is a little creamy and it has a satin-y finish. When you look at it closely, it almost looks like it is a little metallic but when you apply it onto the brows, it will look matte. However, because of its creamy formulation, this eyebrow pencil tends to smudge. I like that it is not too waxy and harsh-looking unlike other brow pencils but I hate that it smudges. So, you have to be careful not to rub, scratch or even touch your brows when you use it.

The photo on top is a swatch of the eyebrow pencil. See the color? I love it so much! It's the perfect eyebrow shade for me. Not too light, not too dark. Anyway, the photo at the bottom is a picture of the pencil after I smudged it.

This is how the Cinema Secrets Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde looks like on my brows alone. No other eyebrow products were used. (Please excuse the stray hairs and my scars.) >_<

I tried to rub my brows and this is what happened after. I told you, it's not smudge-proof.

Considering its formulation, it is just right to set it with your eyebrow powder or an eyeshadow if you don't own a brow powder. That way, the pencil will be locked in and it will not go anywhere! Plus, it will stay on your brows for a longer time. Though I've tried its staying power already. I used it one time on my brows without using any brow powders to set it or brow mascara because I wanted to see how long will it last on my eyebrows. Happy me, it stayed on the whole day on my brows no matter how hot it was that day. It did not fade nor budge. Of course, I had avoided rubbing and touching my eyebrows.

I had also tried swatching it on the back of my hand and placed my hand under a running water and it didn't fade out at all. So yes, it is waterproof! But because it is not smudge-proof, I make sure to set this eyebrow pencil with my eyebrow powder. What I use is my In2It Eyebrow Powder.

If I want to keep the original color of the CS Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde, what I use to set it is the lightest shade from the In2It Waterproof Eyebrow Colour because they have the same color. When I want to go for a darker-looking brows, I set it with the middle brown shade or sometimes, even the darkest shade! On other times, I also mix the lightest shade and the middle shade. It depends on my mood! What I also love about this pencil is that, it is actually a good eyebrow base! Like what I've said, it is not waxy and too thick so it doesn't cake at all with or without setting it with a brow powder.

Here's an eyebrow tutorial that I have uploaded in my YouTube channel last October. I used the Cinema Secrets Professional Make-Up Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde in this video then I set it with my In2It Eyebrow powder.

Here's how my eyebrows look like with the Cinema Secrets Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde set with the lightest shade from the In2It Eyebrow Pencil:

Overall, I absolutely love this eyebrow pencil. Even though it is creamy and tends to smudge, I still love it! I just like how it makes my brows look clean and perfectly groomed. I don't know and I can't even explain it but it just keeps the hairs in place making my brows look neatly groomed.

I won't say that I am recommending this to everyone because I am considering those thrifty persons like me but if you're looking for a light, taupe eyebrow pencil that will look natural and will help make your brows look awesome (hahaha), then I am suggesting that you try out this eyebrow pencil from Cinema Secrets. It's more expensive than our favorite drugstore branded brow pencils but really, this CS brow pencil is not that expensive. It is still affordable, 'di ba?

Let me know if you have tried it out already and share if you love it or hate it. Talk soon!

Today was a very fun day! I attended Ana Patricia'sBirthday Meet and Greet earlier today at Trinoma along with other fellow bloggers and of course, Ana's fans! Fan din n'ya ako, super! Haha! Hi Joyce, Jhelai, Shebby and Kirby! :-D

We met Ana Patricia at Yellow Cab, Trinoma. Her sister, Abbie, was there too. I was so glad because the sisters are very kind and accommodating! They treated everyone who came! We ate A LOT of pizza and chips! Not to mention the giveaways and gifts that we received from the fun games that Ana and Abbie hosted. :) We also had coffee after. Super fun talaga! And the bonding moment is absolutely priceless. I wasn't expecting that Ana will stay with us 'til night. It was so nice to meet new people, too, who have the same passion for makeup like me and my blogger friends. :)

I just have to congratulate Ana for very successful meet and greet! :) Congratulations, babe! :)

Em-Em and me! We both won the special loots! Thanks, Ana and Abbie! :)

GOOD TIMES! GOOD TIMES! :)

Anyway, let me just share with you my FOTD because I got a lot of compliments! Yiiiii! :) Y'all know how I love drugstore and local products because they just never fail me! Today, I used local and drugstore cosmetics and the result was awesome as usual! My love for cheap and affordable products will never die as long as local and drugstore cosmetic brands keep on producing high quality but affordable products.

This is how I look like after over 9 hours with NO RETOUCHING AT ALL! Except for the lip color BUT I reapplied my lipstick very lightly na lang. Awesome, right? Here are the products I used:

FACE

Ever Bilena Whitening BB Cream in Oriental

Careline Oil Control Face Powder in Honey + Fanny Serrano Two Way Cake in Silk

(to highlight the under eye area)

Fashion 21 Two Way Cake with Milk Moisturizers No. 2 (to set the BB Cream)

ALL DRUGSTORE AND LOCAL PRODUCTS! I know sometimes I use high end products and soon I know I'll be experimenting more with high end cosmetics but I just want to share with you, AGAIN, that just because it's expensive, it doesn't mean it's always BETTER! ;-)

I am a 100% lipstick addict! I love collecting lipsticks and I'll never get tired of it. Just like collecting eyebrow pencils and tools!

Recently, 14 new lipsticks were added to my lipstick collection! All thanks to Glory of New York! If you don't know, Glory of New York is a luxurious botanical organic spa product that is made in the USA and in accordance with the standards of the GMP, WHO, and FDA approved (according to their website). Please click here if you want to know more about GoNY.

So, I am so blessed to be one of the bloggers chosen by Glory of New York to review their products! I instagram-ed this mouthwatering photo immediately after I received the products:

It's like makeup porn, 'di ba? I was actually freaking out because I didn't know which product to review first but since I'm a lipstick lover, I decided to review it first. Their skin care products are also amazing but that's a whole other story so please stay tuned for that! ;-)

As you can see in the photo above, it looks like an ordinary lipstick tube with an ordinary lipstick bullet. The black case looks sleek, decent and luxurious because of its weight and its velvety texture. However, I have a problem with one of these lipsticks. Particularly, my No. 62 lipstick has a problem with its packaging. The cap is already loose. It's not snapping anymore onto the tube so it slides off whenever I put it in my bag or when I accidentally pick it up from the top / cap. So far, it's the only one that I have a problem with regarding the packaging but still, I hope Glory of New York will do something about it. That will have a big effect. That situation can ruin the lipstick once you put it in your bag or makeup kit then the cap will eventually slide off. The lipstick bullet may bump onto the other products inside your kit or even on the walls of your bag or makeup kit. It might deform it, it will create a mess and dirt will surely stick onto it. I'm hoping that this particular No.62 lipstick that I have is the only one that has a packaging defect.

Another problem that I have with these lipsticks is that the shades are labeled by numbers. I don't know about you, but for me, it's best if cosmetic companies will come up of cute and clever names for lipstick shades or really, any other products such as blushes and lip liners. That way, consumers will find it easier to memorize the names of their favorite shades such as Ruby Woo by MAC or Pink About It by Revlon. So, that when someone asks you what's the lipstick brand and shade that you're wearing, you won't mix up the numbers! You can quickly answer them, for instance, "Pink Alarm by In2It"! 'Di ba?

-The Real Deal-

Anyway, moving on to the best part and positive things about these GoNY lipsticks (so much for the cons), these lipsticks' texture and consistency are UH-MAAY--ZIINNGGG!!! Glory of New York lipsticks has a great quality, that's a fact. It has a creamy texture that glides on smoothly onto your lips. At first, it looks satin in finish but it dries up semi matte on the lips. One of the best things is that it moisturizes your lips! It's actually almost like a lip balm! It has Vitamin E and Jojoba Oil which are known to help treat dry and chapped lips and even protect from the harmful rays of the sun.

Lately, I've been having dry lips so being in this situation, it's a good timing to test the quality of this lipstick. When I applied the GoNY lipstick onto my dry lips, I was surprised because it softened the dry skin on my lips and it definitely made my lips supple. It's a shame that I don't have a before and after photo to support this part of my testimonial.

Continuing on, aside from the texture, GoNY lipsticks also has an outstanding staying power. The best thing is that, even the lighter shades such as nude, peach, or nude peach stays on for long hours on my lips! I'm raving about this because some of the light-colored lipsticks tend to fade out easily, right? The light shades of GoNY lipsticks has an awesome staying power as well. I guess the only difference of the light shades from the darker shades is that the darker shades may leave stains on your lips even after wiping it with a tissue or rubbing it with your fingers. Try to swatch the dark shades on the back of your hand and leave it for about a minute then try to wipe it with a tissue and it will leave a mark or stain on your skin. Of course, a lip makeup remover or any other makeup remover will help remove that stain so don't fret if you don't like that stain.

Finally, now I can show you a before and after photo for evidence. I instagram-ed this earlier today before going to school:

I took the before photo right after the application of my GoNY lipstick in No.708 and the after photo was taken 2 hours after the application and right after eating lunch. What can you say? Isn't it amazing? It's like there's no difference at all!!! These photos were just taken in different lighting but still, it's awesome! While I was eating, I was actually so conscious about my lipstick. Because I can feel that my lipstick was rubbing off everytime I put the spoon in my mouth and I can even see on my spoon that my lipstick was transferring onto it. Then after eating, I immediately looked in the mirror to check how it looks like and I was so ready to re-apply my lipstick but to my big surprise, the color is still pigmented, as you can see in the photo above! Sa totoo lang, I did not even re-apply my lipstick before leaving the house kasi it still looked pretty pigmented and fresh e! However, when I arrived at school, I looked in my pocket mirror to check it once more and it still looked pigmented but not as fresh though. Still, it's awesome! But without eating, it will definitely stay on for longer hours and will look fresh the whole day. But that's just me, of course. It may have a different effect on you, keep that in mind. :)

I've mentioned in my video that even if I have dry lips, the lipstick will not settle on the crevices of my lips but today, I noticed that it did --- but very slightly! I just want to clear things out. I don't want to look like I'm lying. Hehe!

Now that you know the best things about these lipsticks, I think you're close to purchasing it already! Haha! So to choose your preferred shades, here are the swatches and the video:

No. 22 *frosted

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No. 30

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No. 54 *frosted

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No. 62

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No. 64

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No. 347 *frosted

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No. 495

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No. 606 *frosted

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No. 635

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No. 660 *frosted

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No. 682 *frosted

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No. 702

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No. 704 *frosted

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No. 708

That's all of the 14 shades' swatches but I was informed that Glory of New York has a total of 22 shades of lipsticks. Another thing that I noticed about the shades, other than their names, is that some almost have the same colors such as Numbers 30, 347, and 606. I can't wait to see the other 8 shades!

It may seem pricey for some of you, even for me, but I'm telling you, it's worth the money. I can compare it to Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains which cost P575.00 each. Why? Because like what I've said these lipsticks from GoNY are almost like lip balms, too! It's like a two-in-one product like the Revlon Balm Stains. Try it. You might just fall in love with it too like I did! :)